Six common questions about sterling silver jewelry

Sterling silver jewelry has been a popularwhitish look and rhodium plating has a darker look.
commodity for thousands of years. One of theRhodium is used to plate white gold and platinum
obvious reasons is the affordability over otherjewelry and is much more expensive than nickel,
precious metals gold and platinum. The largeand it give better protection to the silver
variety of sterling silver jewelry requires certainunderneath. On the other hand, some silver
knowledge in order to choose the right piece andjewelry is not plated. For instance, high polished
also keep it in good condition as long as possible.sterling silver jewelry does not have any plating
The followings are the most common questionsand the surface is polished by machine to render
concerning sterling silver jewelry.shininess. Also, oxidized silver jewelry is oxidized
How do I clean sterling silver jewelry?on purpose to give a dark antique look and is not
It depends. Usually, it is sufficient to use a jewelryplated with any other metals.
cloth (with two layers of cloths in different colors)How do I know the purity of my silver jewelry?
that you can get from a jewelry accessory store.The purity of sterling silver refers to 92.5% of
Dont use any hard object to clean sterling silversilver in the alloy. In order to confirm the purity,
jewelry; even paper towel could scratch thethe metal itself has to be sent to a laboratory to
surface. You should rub any dirt off using abe tested. However, most of the sterling silver
jewelry cloth, not fingernails. Silver-dip is anotherjewelry produced nowadays has a 925 stamp to
commonly used sterling silver jewelry cleaner,indicate the authenticity of the jewelry. Although
which can also be obtained from jewelry store.there are cases where stamps are forged and
The entire silver jewelry is immerged in thethe metal is either not silver or the purity is not
solution for half a minute to a minute and thenas stated, they are very rare.
rinsed with water. Make sure the silver jewelry isHow about engraving and resizing?
not plated with any other metal before using theEngraving and resizing of sterling silver rings is
silver-dip or the plating will be damaged.rather simple due to the ductility and relatively low
Where do I store sterling silver jewelry?melting point. However, make sure your jeweler
It is very important to store sterling silver jewelryunderstands the process of refinishing the ring and
properly when it is not used. The ideal place tothat they possess the necessary equipment to do
store sterling silver jewelry is cool and away fromso. Not all jewelers have the equipment to recoat
sunlight. Heat and light will turn a silver jewelrythe rhodium plating after cutting and welding the
yellow and cause it to tarnish quickly. Even indoorring. Also, rings set with stones are sometimes
light source like florescent lights or light bulbs turnnot resizable because resizing might cause the
the color of silver jewelry over time. If youstones to pop out. Such settings include channel
expect not to wear a certain piece for a longand invisible settings.
time, put it in a air-tight bag and store it in aCan I wear sterling silver jewelry if I am allergic
drawer.to nickel?
What types of silver jewelry plating are there?Yes, just make sure the jewelry is pure sterling
Unlike gold and platinum, however, pure silver issilver, not plated with nickel. Even Rhodium plated
rather unstable and oxides rather quickly.sterling silver jewelry sometimes contains a nickel
Therefore, silver jewelry is usually plated withlayer between the silver and the rhodium to act
another metal to protect it from tarnishing. Thereas an adhesive. Hence, buy only high polished
are two kinds of plating for silver jewelry: nickelsterling silver jewelry if you are allergic to nickel.
and rhodium plating. Nickel plating has a more